Consumers spend hundreds—and sometimes thousands—of dollars for the luxury of a designer handbag. In recent years, the cost for these designer handbags have consistently increased with the price of many bags far outpacing both inflation and the market-wide price increases for non-luxury items. For example, a Louis Vuitton Speedy Bag® now starts at about $855—a price increase of almost 53% in less than a decade.
According to the Business of Fashion, many marquee handbags have had price increases of 50-60% in the past decade, and the market for luxury accessories continues to expand. Often, these handbags are made with materials, such as leather, suede, and cotton, which are susceptible to natural forces, such as weather. Exposure to sun, rain, snow, and damp conditions are only a few examples of natural forces that can damage the expensive handbags. Once damaged, cleaning and restoration of such handbags is not only impractical, but can drastically reduce the value of the handbag.
One conventional manner for protecting the handbag, and the contents stored within, includes protective garments. Unfortunately, when available, these protective garments are customized to accommodate only a specific bag, not a variety of bags. Even more, if able to fully fit around the specific bag, it is rare that the handle of the handbag is accessible through the protective garment. When the handles of the handbag are completely covered by the protective garment, the user is forced to carry the handbag in an uncomfortable position.
As the market for luxury accessories continues to grow, an increasing number of expensive handbags are becoming susceptible to inclement weather and other uncontrollable forces. Accordingly, a need exists for improved systems and methods for water-resistant, protective coverings to overcome the aforementioned obstacles and deficiencies of prior art systems.
It should be noted that the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale and that elements of similar structures or functions are generally represented by like reference numerals for illustrative purposes throughout the figures. It also should be noted that the figures are only intended to facilitate the description of the various embodiments described herein. The figures do not describe every aspect of the teachings disclosed herein and do not limit the scope of the claims.